this is an excellent history book describing the period of time from the late 1400's to mid-1500's when the battles between the muslim Ottoman Empire and the Christian Europe raged across the Med from Turkey to Gibraltar. the book is a stark reminder that the conflicts we are living through today are but an echo of centuries of war on a scale that dwarfs anything but the modern World Wars. tens of thousands of men and hundreds of ships were marshalled to take or protect keys bases in the Med, culminating (in the book) in the massive naval battle of Lepanto when the Christian fleet destroyed the Ottomans and stalled the muslim advance. the book is also interesting as it deals with the issues of dynastic succession in both the European Kingdoms and the Ottoman Empire. we also get to see the impact of the Lutheran Reformation on the coherency of the European response to the Ottomans, with the international politics of Europe always playing a role in how each muslim threat was met. this was a very quick read for a history book, well written and fast paced. very interesting for any history buffs, especially if you find naval battles interesting.

Brutal. The Christian and Muslim empires clash on the edge of medieval and modern warfare, and as you might imagine it doesn't go terribly well for either side. Sandwiched between the stories of great sieges and spectacularly destructive sea battles is also Barbarosa: Perhaps the most long-lived and successful pirate corsair in history. Fascinating.

Best book I've read this year. Short, but pointed account of the 16th century struggle for the Mediterranean. Goes deep enough to get a flavor of the major players, but speeds along at an appropriate pace between the major battles. I strongly suggest this book to everyone, as its general direction is of interest to all.

Empires of the Sea,
The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World
Author: Roger Crowley
Publisher: Random House
Publishing Date: 2008
Pgs: 336
Dewey: 940.21 CRO
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
Rulers on a mission from God. Cultures in clash. Cruelty. Horror, War. Pirates. Slavery. Ottoman. Spanish. The Mediterranean running red with blood. Siege. Conquest. History ran red during this period when the Cold War between the followers of the Cross and the Crescent went to hot.
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Genre:
History
16th Century
Naval History
Europe
Turkey
Spain
Roman Catholic Church
Islam
Christianity
Naval Battles


Why this book:
Picked this up for Venetian history, which is outside my wheelhouse. Instead this is more aimed at Spanish-Ottoman history with sidelights in Venice, Rome, etc.
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The Feel:
We think of this as the distant past. But America had already been discovered when the Siege of Malta occurred. And by the end of this period, Spain was busily colonizing and treasure seeking all of South America. This also coincided with the early Protestant era.

Favorite Character:
Oruch the Silver Arm sounds like a D20 RPG player character. But he was a pirate become conqueror and territorial governor in the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman. And thorn in the side of and bogeyman to Christian Spain. In death, Oruch was treated like a vampire. Body nailed to the wall of his last conquest. Silver arm hacked off. Beheaded. His arm and decapitated head shipped off to Spain to go on tour after being paraded around the Maghreb to insure that everyone knew he was dead.

Favorite Scene / Quote/Concept:
The rise of Sulieman, the coronation of Charles, the fall of Rhodes. It’s a helluva start.

The sheer viciousness of Famagusta is telling.

Hmm Moments:
Raw materials, bullion, higher prices, and lower production costs did more to stymie the Ottoman Empire than the defeat at Malta or the loss at Lepanto. Follow the money. The war for the Med ended in a stalemate and ignoble collapse for both the main combatants. The Ottomans lost their expand or die mentality. The Spanish fell victim to gold fever and inflation.

WTF Moments:
And again the Spanish under Charles snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and fail to roll onward to Algiers after the taking of Tunis. And thus despite defeating Barbossa, they let Barbossa the Younger slip away to harry them another day.

WTF? What of the French supplying cannon and shot to the Ottomans?

So...the defenders of Malta standing off the Ottoman fleet leave their posts for Sunday morning church and the Ottoman invasion force lands. :/

Meh / PFFT Moments:
With no true long range weaponry in this time, the Siege of Malta doesn’t make good strategic sense and seems ill conceived. The rock has nothing but position. Would have made more sense to raid in strength and destroy the Knights Navy and blockaded the rock leaving those ashore to starve and die of thirst or humidity, whichever came first.

King Phillip’s cold feet could have doomed Malta even though the ships, men, and material were gathered in Sicily, close at hand.

The Sigh:
The Spanish under Charles despite their defeat of Oruch failed the strategy game. Instead of marching on Algiers and eliminating the pirate threat, they took Oruch’s defeat as a sign that all was well. Oruch’s younger brother had a say in that matter. And through him, Sultan Selim of the Ottoman Empire and his son and heir Suleiman.

Wisdom:
The Knights of St John after being in the eye of the storm in Rhodes, during the fall of the Byzantines and the Eastern Mediterranean were placed in the second eye on Malta. And twice in history they stood impediment to the Ottoman Navy and pirates and the ambitions of the Ottoman Turks.

Juxtaposition:
The horrid life of the galley slaves be they Christian or Muslim, conscripted, stolen from homelands, debtors, all worked to death consumed like fuel. The age of sail was dawning but the enslaved oarsmen were still the primary fuel of the naval adventurism of Charles of Spain and Suleiman of the Turks. The strategic raids all seem to mainly be slave gathering exercises. Women and children for the auction and men for the oars. Islam and Christianity learned slavery by turning it on themselves, before graciously, pfft, sharing it with the rest of the world.

The Siege of Malta can be seen as an omen of the trench warfare of WW1.

The Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, Sokollu Mehmet Pasha, who served Suleiman the Great and his successors, exercised influence and his own lust for power. He was more of a Cardinal Richelieu character ala The Three Musketeers than the real Cardinal Richelieu was.

Missed Opportunity:
Imagine if the Ottomans under Selim had built those canals connecting the Black and Caspian Seas and the Med and the Red. Would have opened the Orient to them in the same way that the discovery of America opened to Spain and the rest of Europe.

Movies and Television:
The Siege of Malta would make a helluva movie.
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Pacing:
Very well paced.

Last Page Sound:
This was a gap in my historical knowledge. I was vaguely aware of the Siege of Malta, but not all the rest.

Questions I’m Left With:
Wonder if Oruch’s silver arm is still in a museum someplace?

Conclusions I’ve Drawn:
This presents itself as a complete war. But it is merely a flare-up in the long running contest between Islam and Christianity. A war that goes from hot to cold and back again over the long march of history. It predates both Christian and Muslim. Goes back at least to Greeks and Persians and wouldn’t surprise me if it predates them.

Author Assessment:
Loved it. Will definitely read other historical narratives by this author.
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Reconstruction of the century-long war between the Ottoman Empire (and its North African allies) and the Hapsburgs of Spain and Austria for control of the Mediterranean, culminating in the bloody siege of Malta (I have a certain fondness for the Knights of St. John) and the Battle of Lepanto.

This started off really well. Extremely engaging style that really had me hooked, up to page 81. Then the minimalisation of the Altantic slave trade was a little too much. I started reading with a more critical eye and found that the book appeared to be completely biased. These days it would probably be heralded by the "western chauvanists", though it did encourage me to search out texts from the Ottoman Empires perspective, just to get a balance. It did descend into a long list of battles decrying the bloodthirsty barbaric Turks and making excuses for the Christians. It did a good job, because the Christians come across as rather inept.

“THE TREATY OF 1580 RECOGNIZED a stalemate between two empires and two worlds. From this moment, the diagonal frontier that ran the length of the Mediterranean between Istanbul and the Gates of Gibraltar hardened. ”